0401-EVA12Report

EVA#12 Report - April 1st, 2016.

Crew members: Commander Mathieu Roiseux, Journalist Nadine Traufler,

Engineer Gregory Edison, Geologist Arthur Bawin.

Location:

517802E 4254655N

515111E 4253284N

516100E 4254380N

ATV: 2-3-4-5

Time: Departure 2:00 pm - Return 4:45 pm

Purposes:

Testing the antenna and retrieve the lost compass.

Summary:

We quickly got to the road where yesterday's team dropped the compass,

right after the crossroads, north of the now dried river. We had no

trouble finding it, as it was black and we could see it from the

ATV's, which is good news !

As we were going quite far from the station, we performed some

communication tests for our XO's antenna experiment, and checked whether

or not we got signal from the station. This was successful, as it led to

the expected results. We went on and followed the road, to make two

more tests, then made a u-turn, and decided to get back to the MDRS.

Please note: We realized 10 minutes later that there was some kind of

problem with the ATV #4 rear brake: apparently, some screws detached

from the structure, and a piece of the brake, which is supposed to

tighten the disk, is now completely loose, leaving no braking for the

rear shaft. We tightened it with two ropes, and got back to the MDRS

without losing any other piece. This incident will be part of the

engineer's daily report, and shall need some further investigation and

repair: 2 new screws from the shop may be enough, but we'll advise

the next crew to be extra cautious, as it may not be fixed within the

2 or 3 next days... Apart from that, the EVA went on well (-: